Ross FiveSidedBarrel Blog

Editor Development: Content Pipeline Options

2011-04-30T02:21:41Z

Content Pipeline Options

After a marathon of development this week, we have some new editor features coming soon. The biggest addition is the ability to change content pipeline options for assets in your content repository. Through the repository, you can change an asset's content importer, processor and processor properties without having to directly deal with the content pipeline. This will open the door for custom importers and processor, such as those for skinning or different file formats.

We've also optimized editor loading to increase startup speed and expanded the editor's type system to allow custom types to easily accept any asset from the content repository.

Two New Video Tutorials

2011-03-25T02:35:34Z

We are rolling right along with our video tutorial series covering the SunBurn Editor and two new installments have been posted:

Light Editing - Covers lighting basics and the different light types.
Basic Material Editing - Covers basic material properties and texture assignment.

This brings our current total to five tutorials and counting. We plan to produce several videos every week so watch the Learn SunBurn tutorial section for updates and subscribe to the YouTube tutorial channel.

Learn SunBurn - Tutorial section
Using the SunBurn Editor - The tutorial series for the editor
SunBurnGameEngineXNA - YouTube tutorial channel (subscribe for new videos!)

Roadmap For Future Tutorials

Environments - Rendering settings, editor settings, HDR, bloom.
Terrain
Collisions
Advanced Material Editing - Parallax, specular maps, fresnel, custom effects.
Advanced Scene Editing - Prefabs, components, custom types (editor + code).
Light Mapping

SunBurn Game Engine Tutorial #5 - Editor Material Editing

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Video Tutorials Now Available

2011-03-12T02:47:23Z

In my last blog we announced upcoming video tutorials to help SunBurn users. Well now the first set of tutorials are available.

Where Are They?

A new Learn SunBurn section has been added to feature these tutorials and we setup a YouTube channel specifically for the video tutorials. We'll be adding new tutorials regularly so be sure to subscribe and check the new section for updates. Again, if you have any specific topics you would like to see covered, let us know. We hope you enjoy!

Learn SunBurn - Tutorial section
SunBurnGameEngineXNA - YouTube tutorial channel
New Documentation: Video Tutorials - Announcement blog

SunBurn Game Engine Tutorial #3 - Editor Scene Editing

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New Documentation: Video Tutorials

2011-03-07T20:38:41Z

One of the things we are currently working on is expanding and revising our current documentation. This includes some exciting new video tutorials we are creating to help users learn SunBurn. The first series we are planning covers the editor and using it to create your scenes.

Editor Video Tutorials

At first the tutorials will be basic, simply introducing SunBurn to new users and getting their feet wet. Then the series will get progressively more in-depth, eventually covering prefabs, components, light mapping and more. We also have plans for other series focused on asset creation and programming.

This blog is to preview our first video tutorial and to get feedback from the community. We would like to know what you think, what we could improve and what you would like to see from future videos. Remember, these videos are for you so don't be shy with your input. Now without further ado, here is our first ever video tutorial.

SunBurn Editor Tutorial 1 - Introduction

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-UPDATE-

The video tutorials are now available!

Learn SunBurn - Tutorial section
SunBurnGameEngineXNA - YouTube tutorial channel
Video Tutorials Now Available - New blog

Using Custom Types in the Editor

2011-02-05T01:16:17Z

SunBurn 2.0.11 was just released and now the new editor features are available. A more complex feature is custom type support for the editor. This blog covers how to get your custom types or components to show up in-editor and how to control how they are displayed.

Getting Started

To get a custom type into the editor, it should first have a default constructor and derive from SceneEntity/SceneObject or implement IEditorCreatedObject<SceneEntity>. Secondly, the class must have the EditorCreatedObject attribute applied to it, which tells the editor that the object can be created. Lastly, you must add the Serializable attribute and override GetObjectData/SetObjectData to serialize your type's properties when the editor saves/loads objects.

Types inheriting from SceneEntity do not have models and are not rendered (except for the editor gizmo), so they should be used for markers, waypoints, etc. Types inheriting from SceneObject do have models/meshes and will render if assigned one. The editor will automatically recognize this (and other types implementing the interface IEditorCreatedModelObject) and prompt the user to select a model when added to the scene.

To get a component into the editor, derive from BaseComponentAutoSerialization or BaseComponentManualSerialization and have a default constructor. Then add the Serializable attribute to the class and use SerializeMember attributes on the properties you want saved (AutoSerialization) or override GetObjectData/SetObjectData to serialize your component’s properties (ManualSerialization). An example of an AutoSerialization component can be found in the HDR example.

Controlling Properties

By default, any public properties for the type will be displayed in the editor but this can be controlled through the EditorProperty attribute. This attribute controls if a property is visible, its position in the editor's properties panel and the text description/tooltip

[EditorProperty(true, Description="Description Text", ToolTipText="Hover-Over ToolTip", MajorGrouping=3, MinorGrouping=2, HorizontalAlignment=true)]

Description sets the text that is displayed next to the control. MajorGrouping, MinorGrouping and HorizontalAlignment define the position and orientation of the property’s control. MajorGroups are for organizing related properties and all properties with the same MajorGroup number will go into the same divider panel. The MinorGrouping determines the order of properties within each MajorGroup. With these two options you can control the layout of your properties.

The last option, HorizontalAlignment, determines the position of the description text for a property control, either appearing next to the control (horizontal) or above the control (vertical).

Advanced Options

You can have more advanced options for specific controls through ControlOptions attributes. For example, you can use the EditorNumberPadOptions attribute to define how the numberpad control will behave for floats and integers. Supported control options and their properties are:

EditorNumberPadOptions: sets decimal places to display, min value, max value and increment amount for a numberpad.
EditorCheckboxOptions: sets return integer value to define whether a checkbox returns true/false or 1/0.
EditorDropDownOptions: sets the width for a drop-down box.
EditorTextBoxOptions: sets the width and error display for a textbox.
EditorEnumDescription: used on enum values to define human-readable descriptions or to ignore the value altogether.

Custom Type Example

Here is an example type that will show up in the editor (in the Content Repository panel), that can be added to the scene (by dragging-dropping onto a Scene Group) and will have its property editable. Note that it has two properties but only one of them is visible to the editor.

[Serializable]
[EditorCreatedObject]
public class MyCustomEntity : SceneEntity
{
    private float _MyValue;

    [EditorProperty(true, Description="My Value", ToolTipText="This is the tooltip")]
    public float MyValue { get { return _MyValue; } set { _MyValue = value; } }

    //This Property will not be displayed in the editor.
    [EditorProperty(false)]
    public bool SomeBoolean { get; set; }

    public override void SetObjectData( SerializationInfo info, StreamingContext c )
    {
        base.SetObjectData( info, c );
        SerializationHelper.DeserializeField( ref _MyValue, info, "MyValue", true );
    }

    public override void GetObjectData( SerializationInfo info, StreamingContext c )
    {
        base.GetObjectData( info, c );
        info.AddValue( "MyValue", _MyValue );
    }
}

Create Your Own Custom Types

Check out these latest features in SunBurn 2.0.11 and we hope they give you the tools you need to expand the editor to suit your needs. As always, any questions are welcome (that's what we are here for). Now create your own custom types and make some amazing scenes!

New Editor Features: prefabs, components and more

2011-01-28T21:22:57Z

The next version of SunBurn is fast approaching and its a large update for the editor. There are a number of usability changes and we've added support for components, prefabs and custom object types. Some community requested changes have also made it into this release. These new features should make scene editing easier and more precise.

Components

SunBurn 2.0.9 saw the introduction of object-level components to add custom data and behaviors to objects. Now you can use this feature directly in the editor. For scene objects and lights, the right-click context menu lists available components and the editor will automatically find any components in your assemblies. Selecting components allows you to edit their properties.

Prefabs

The content repository has been expanded to include prefabs: automatically serialized objects, lights or groups. Prefabs can be created through the right-click context menu and added to the scene through drag-drop (the same as models), letting you to save portions of your scene to copy elsewhere.

Custom Types

The editor also allows for custom scene entity types. A list of all types inheriting from SceneEntity/SceneObject will be displayed below the content repository and a simple drag-drop will add it to the scene. Any new properties on the type will be editable and can be controlled through the EditorProperty attribute.

Other Features

Apply relative transform dialog for precise manipulation of scene objects.
Drag-drop models onto a scene object's Model File textbox to change the model.
Camera controls moved to the environment.

Check out the new SunBurn Editor in the next update and all its cool, new features. We have more blogs planned to cover some of these features in more detail.

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SunBurn 1.3.2: The New Editor

2010-06-01T18:12:59Z

As previously mentioned, 1.3.2 is a huge release with plenty of new features: among them is the new editor. With a new UI, improved screen space, and integration into SunBurn, it allows for more streamlined workflow. This post talks about some of the new features and differences from the old editor.

SunBurn Integration

The editor is now a part of SunBurn, not a separate application. You no longer have to hunt for the SunBurn-Editor executable and wait for it to connect. Instead, simply launch your game and press F11 (or any key of your choice, you can even launch the editor manually in your code). Being directly connected, the editor is more responsive and faster to launch.

Undo/Redo

The undo system in the old editor was a little unintuitive, with undo stacks per-object and only some functions undoable. Now undo steps are per tab and are based on every action in that tab. This makes editing faster and allows for more actions to be undoable: move, clone, add, delete, etc.

Tooltips, Shortcuts, and Menus

The editor now sports extensive tooltips to help explain properties and actions. There are also keyboard shortcuts available for standard actions (save, undo, redo) and editor specific functions. If an action has a shortcut, its tooltip will tell you.

We have expanded the context menus on controls as well. Right-clicking on selections will give you options such as save or add/remove. Other actions have been moved to context menus to save space: highlight selected, texture browser options, etc. If in doubt, right-click.

Real-time Assets

Another exciting feature is that asset tracking is now real-time inside the editor. When a changed texture is detected, it will automatically update your game to use the new version. You no longer have to do a full scene refresh to update changed, in-game textures.

LightingSystemEditor Code Changes

Two new members on the LightingSystemEditor object give you more control of the editor: LaunchEditor() and GameHasFocus. The LaunchEditor() function allows you to manually open the editor at any time, instead of pressing the launch key. The GameHasFocus property works with the old EditorAttached property to help you write editor specific code; it tells you if your game window is currently in focus or if the editor window and its controls have focus. This is useful for custom movement code, which you would not want to be processed if you were typing in a textbox.

Many More

There are lots of other small updates as well: better responsiveness, stackable rollout panels, terrain editing, etc. Be sure to try out the new editor with the new SunBurn 1.3.2.

Gamefest - Editor Update

2010-02-11T19:40:35Z

This is my first blog and I thought I’d make it a good one. We’ve been working on some under-wraps projects here at Synapse Gaming for some time and Gamefest is the perfect time to announce one to the community. Instead of saying any more, I’ll just show you a screenshot:

This is the new editor we are rolling out in a few weeks. We’ve been working on this for a while and it is just about ready for the community.

The current editor’s usability has room for improvement and it isn’t exactly pretty. We designed this new one from the ground up to be easier to use with minimal screen usage. As you can see, we have all of the controls readily available: no more painful tab navigation. The texture browser and treeview selection are also dockable roll out panels that can collapse out of the way when not in use, maximizing your visible game window.

We are excited to get this into the community’s hands and it should be packaged up with a SunBurn release soon. Also, Raphael was the first community member to try out the new editor at Gamefest and he gave us tons of great feedback. Expect the new editor to be a great improvement over the current one; thanks Raphael!

Ross FiveSidedBarrel Blog

Editor Development: Content Pipeline Options

Content Pipeline Options

More Video Tutorials

SunBurn Game Engine Tutorial #8 - Collisions

Two New Video Tutorials

Roadmap For Future Tutorials

SunBurn Game Engine Tutorial #5 - Editor Material Editing

Video Tutorials Now Available

Where Are They?

SunBurn Game Engine Tutorial #3 - Editor Scene Editing

New Documentation: Video Tutorials

Editor Video Tutorials

SunBurn Editor Tutorial 1 - Introduction

-UPDATE-

Using Custom Types in the Editor

Getting Started

Controlling Properties

Advanced Options

Custom Type Example

Create Your Own Custom Types

New Editor Features: prefabs, components and more

Components

Prefabs

Custom Types

Other Features

SunBurn 1.3.2: The New Editor

SunBurn Integration

Undo/Redo

Tooltips, Shortcuts, and Menus

Real-time Assets

LightingSystemEditor Code Changes

Many More

Gamefest - Editor Update